by Carole Devine

Created on: November 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 17, 2009

With the holidays approaching, most of us are looking forward to the homemade meals the season brings but not to the expanding waistline that often results from overindulging. While Thanksgiving is often seen as a day devoted to gastronomical excess, two of the most common ingredients likely to appear on the table on this day have fat burning qualities: turkey and cranberries. However, the key to unlocking the weight controlling powers of both these foods is in the preparation. If we fill our turkey's body with a fattening stuffing, fry it in oil, heap it on our plate, golden skin and all, and slather it in gravy, we are not going to realize much of the fat burning benefits inherent in the bird. The same goes for the cranberries most often served in a sweetened sauce or processed in a high fructose jelly. Even fat burning foods can be turned into fat producers if we laden them with sugar or cook them in fatty oils.

The phrase if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is applies equally to weight loss as it does to most everything else. No one loses weight by sitting around watching television and eating to their heart's content. Exercise and moderation in diet is vital to any lasting weight loss program and in helping a person maintain a healthy body weight. However, studies do show that there are certain foods, turkey and berries among them, that can help the body burn fat.

Incorporating the following five foods into a sensible diet can help you drop more pounds, and keep them off, than dieting alone. The following foods work by speeding up the body's metabolism which, in turn, causes it to burn more calories. These foods, rich in fiber, complex carbohydrates, or protein, are harder for the body to break down, forcing it to release caloric energy over an extended period of time during digestion. This translates into more calories burned and a longer feeling of fullness.

1. Turkey. High in protein and low in fat, turkey is a perfect meat to help increase metabolism and aid in weight loss. For maximum effectiveness, serve without the skin, and stick to the lighter cuts of meat on the bird. Three ounces of dark meat on a turkey has more calories than the equivalent of white meat, and contains more than double the fat (6.1 grams versus 2.7 grams).

2. Oats. High in complex carbohydrates and rich in fiber, oatmeal breaks down slowly in the body keeping insulin levels in check, and preventing the body from storing fat. An article published in October of 2005

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